Jumat, 07 Oktober 2016

The Five Practices of Extraordinary Leaders

The Five Practices of Extraordinary Leaders

“Extraordinary leaders invest in those they lead by sharing with them what they have learned.”

The leadership story
in the Bible, and Jesus in particular, defines and promotes an
alternative to conventional leadership methods. This alternative
consists of five practices used by extraordinary leaders.Practice #1: Learning
Virtually every leadership paradigm advocates learning in some form
or another. “Leaders are learners” is an adage that has been around for
years. However, the motivation for learning is often to keep leaders
ahead of their followers. Extraordinary leaders learn for a very
different reason. They learn in order to serve others better. Learning
provides the fuel for the other four practices.Practice #2: Serving
Jesus contrasted extraordinary leadership with conventional leadership when he said, “You know that the rulers
of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise
authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become
great among you must be your servant” (Matthew 20:25-26, NIV). Conventional leaders rule others. Extraordinary leaders serve others.Practice #3: Caring
Conventional leaders often use rewards like money, gifts, perks and
recognition to obtain influence. There’s nothing wrong with these
things, but unfortunately they tend to create a transactional
relationship between leaders and followers. Extraordinary leaders take a
different approach. They simply care for people, sharing their lives
with them with no expectation of anything in return. Ironically the
byproduct of unconditional caring is a more powerful form of influence
than that which can be obtained the conventional way.Practice #4: Doing
All leaders have to get things done. They have to produce meaningful
results. Conventional leaders tend to use control to get things done.
Extraordinary leaders instead use inspiration. They share a vision of an
objective they are passionate about and invite others to pursue it with
them. Through their vision extraordinary leaders are able to offer
something that is a powerful motivator for most of us, significance.Practice #5: Teaching
This final practice is closely tied to the first. Extraordinary
leaders invest in those they lead by sharing with them what they have
learned. They take the time to instill their wisdom into the people they
lead. The outcome is that people who follow extraordinary leaders
become leaders themselves.

Dave Alford

Dave Alford Is Pastor of Leadership Development at
Saddleback Church. In this role he develops leaders through several
channels including the intern program, the online campus, and small
group curriculum development.